Frayed Connecting Threads
by lightwoodlady25
Summary: When waves of arguments shake up the Herondale household in London, the threads that connect the Herondales to their friends hold them together.


I'm back...with more family fics and a hearty helping of angst. This time it's Herondale family and friends centric also known as the ALL OF THE RELATIONSHIPS FIC.

Post CP2. No spoilers. Cassandra Clare owns TID and TDA, which I cannot wait to read once it's finished. Is it 2015 yet?

* * *

"Frayed Connecting Threads"

Tessa's heart leaped when she heard a door slam in the hallway. The slam was followed immediately by a patter of feet on the hallway carpet.

The library doors burst open. In the afternoon light stood Lucie. She was breathing so hard that Tessa noticed her daughter's braids bobbing up and down. There was fire in her eyes, burning brightly enough to remind Tessa of Will when he and Gabriel used to pick fights with each other. Before Tessa could ask what was wrong, Lucie let out a scream of frustration.

"It's not fair! It's not fair!" She bolted for her favorite section of the bookshelves. Tessa gasped as Lucie began pulling books from the shelves, throwing them onto the floor as fast as she could. Tessa rushed to kneel by her daughter's side, prying Lucie's next paper victim from her grasp.

"Lucie, what happened?" Tessa said as she rubbed Lucie's shoulders soothingly. But Lucie would not be consoled. With every touch of her mother's hand, she tried to pull free.

"Jamie...h-he's so..."

* * *

"Stupid." James let out a huff of frustration as he turned his head away. He hated these conversations with his father - the ones where he was always to blame. It didn't help that these moments were always held in his father's study. The study used to be a place of comfort, a haven of comfy chairs with the smell of dusty books and firewood, of paper and ink. Not anymore though.

Will's gaze hardened on his son. "This is serious, Jamie."

"It's not my fault she follows me around like a shadow. You can't expect me to watch her like you and Mother."

"I understand -" Will started but James never let him finish. The vase on the mantle piece shattered with a crash. On the floor lay the remnants of the hand crafted piece and a very familiar book. Across the cover was a jagged scratch. Before either of them could respond, the door burst open, and in flooded Tessa, breathless and worried. She was carrying Lucie in her arms. The little girl's stare remained fixed on the floor where her favorite book lay; the color had all but drained from her face.

"Will, is everything..."

* * *

"Alright, cariad?"

He was looking at his hands. His blue eyes were smoldering with pain.

Cecily pat Will's hand soothingly. She had arrived as soon as she could after receiving Tessa's letter. The smeared words, the eerie silence of the Institute, and Tessa's pained expression confirmed Cecily's suspicions. A sibling fight had shaken up the Herondale family.

"By the Angel, Ella made forgiveness look easy," Will murmured as his hand swept through his hair for the umpteenth time. He would be bald by morning, Cecily thought, as she caught her brother's hand into hers. Giving it a tight squeeze, she sighed.

"She's _Ella._ Sisters always make things look easier than they are. Comes with the years of experience and wisdom."

"Could use some of that wisdom now. Do you know of someone's sister I could talk to?"

Cecily huffed in annoyance, tossing her head dramatically. "Had this been any other day, I would challenge you to a duel for questioning my advice, Gwilym Owain." Despite the misery eating him inside, Will let out a faint chuckle. "But this is what you're going to do. Tomorrow morning you go to Jamie's room and tell him..."

* * *

"The story of the brother and sister? I don't want to hear it," Lucie protested as she buried her face into the pillow. She curled around her pillow, like a lonely kitten struggling to keep warm without her litter mates nearby.

Gabriel put the book of fairy tales down on the bedside table. That was the tenth story she had refused to let him read to her before she went to sleep. He was used to hearing Jamie refuse suggestions, but Lucie speaking to him in this tone reminded him of his Anna. Arguments with his headstrong daughter could last for hours, no matter the subject - clothes, weaponry, even the damn dinner plates. Clearly, being opinionated and stubborn were traits found on all sides of the family.

"I'm out of ideas then, Lucie," admitted Gabriel, looking wearily at the tall stack of unwanted books. Maybe he was the wrong person to be with her; why Tessa had asked him instead of Cecily to be with Lucie was beyond him. "If you want, I can go get Aunt Cecily -"

"No."

Gabriel felt his chest tighten slightly as his niece tugged at his hand with all her strength. He almost wished she could cry in front of him; the sadness in her eyes was enough to swallow him whole without mercy. It was a look he knew very well - Tatiana had that look after emerging from their father's study after being yelled at for Angel knew what. Back then, he scoffed at her seeking her brothers' comfort in the middle of the night, but after learning the truth about his father, he understood. Growing up in the Lightwood household was difficult with no mother and an overbearing father. A few wet droplets on his hand called Gabriel back to reality.

"Don't go. Please...pleasedon't..." As sobs overtook her, Lucie's words began to blend together, like words on paper when wet. In one swift motion, Lucie threw her arms around her uncle's neck; he hugged back. He was prepared to stay with her the whole night.

"It's okay to let it out. I'm..."

* * *

"Here."

Tessa took the cup and saucer from Sophie. The tea was just cool enough not to burn, and Tessa drank greedily. She needed it after the longest hour of her life. If only she could reach out to Jem at such short notice. He would know how to calm Will and Jamie down...

"Anything else I can get you, Tessa?" Sophie was still standing, expectant, her hands folded in front of her.

"I should be asking you that after you've left your children in the dead of night," Tessa said softly. Last time she checked, it was almost eleven.

"Nonsense. They'll be fine. This morning's training had them all half asleep before dinner; Thomas was practically snoring into his pudding." The way Sophie wrinkled her nose with a motherly smile made Tessa laugh; however weak it sounded, it was sincere. Sophie continued. "But really. What can I do for you?"

Sinking back into the sofa, Tessa took a deep breath. She put down her tea on the table next to her. Sophie immediately sat down next to her friend who looked at her with tired eyes.

"Thank you for being here."

"It's my honor. And Tessa never hesitate to call on..."

* * *

_Me? I'm still fumbling in the dark, hoping to find the light before I go mad._

_-Jamie_

James finished scribbling the end of his letter. After blotting it, he folded it carefully and placed it the back of the fireplace, away from spying eyes. From an early age, he learned it was relieving to write when he was upset. The burning of his angry letters came later when he changed whom he wrote to.

Ella Herondale. His father's other sister who died protecting her brother from a demon.

There was always mystery surrounding her. His father rarely spoke of her. Whenever her name was mentioned in front of his grandparents, he felt uncomfortable when he saw the look of longing in their faces. It was Lucie who talked about Ella - or Aunt Ella, or whatever he was supposed to call her. After he and his parents had returned from Idris, Lucie went on for days about meeting Aunt Ella in Aunt Cecy's library, about how she had fallen asleep but then woke up to see a blue-eyed girl in a white dress, and how they shared stories until cousin Anna came in to tell her supper was ready.

Everyone had brushed it off as another one of Lucie's wild tales; James had too, until he had seen her in his father's study one night. True to his sister's descriptions, Ella was a blue-eyed girl, around fourteen years old, in a gracefully flowing dress - not a ghost but certainly not an angel. She was reading one of the angry letters addressed to Lucie that lay on his father's desk. But as her blue eyes skimmed his darkest thoughts, she wasn't disappointed like his father, or heartbroken like his mother when Lucie had shown them the scathing document.

When she looked at him, she gave him a sympathetic smile.

Before he could react, she whispered, "Write to me." When James blinked again, she was gone. Despite his initial skepticism, James eventually did write to her, a ripple of his father's past that touched his life. It was his secret for as long as he wouldn't be discovered.

After dousing his witchlight, James quietly climbed into bed. Just as his eyes slid close in much needed sleep, he caught sight of a silhouette kneeling beside the fireplace.

_I hope you can understand. I hope you don't judge me for what I've done._

* * *

Can anyone name the fics referenced? (Hint, hint: Lucie meeting Ella, Tatiana needing brotherly comfort)

I haven't written in a while, so I'd appreciate any feedback you guys can give me. Have I become rusty? Which "pairing" was your favorite?


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